1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to electricity meter boxes, in particular to an adjustable closure for securing the door of the meter box.
2. Problems Addressed by the Invention
In the utility industry, electricity meters are often enclosed in metal meter boxes with hinged metal or Plexiglas doors which allow access to the meter. A great number of these doors are secured only by a latch operated by a simple, low security key. As the incidence of energy theft via meter tampering has increased in recent years, many utility companies have found it necessary to retrofit their meter boxes with high security locks in order to prevent unauthorized access to the meters. The problem with retrofitting a large number of meter boxes is that the boxes tend to vary in shape and size. This requires the locking assembly used to secure the box doors to be customized for each box, making installation potentially expensive and time consuming. Also, the presence of the meter and cables in the box limit the space and surfaces available for mounting the locking assembly.
3. Discussion of Prior Art
In order to provide background information so that the current invention may be understood and appreciated in its proper context, reference is made to a meter box locking assembly in current use. In this assembly, an L-shaped bracket is mounted in the meter box on the bottom or side wall, and a hole in the bracket is aligned with a hole in the door of the box. A bushing having a lower threaded portion, a central flange portion, and an upper thin-walled portion, is inserted threaded end first into the door hole. The flange portion, having a larger diameter than the door hole, abuts the outside surface of the door, and the bushing is secured to the door with a locking nut. The bushing has a central hole with a larger diameter counter bore starting at the thin walled end, and extending almost to the bottom of the threaded portion. The thin-walled section contains several apertures for receiving a security seal like the one shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,353,583 (1982, Moberg).
When the door is locked, a barrel lock is used, such as the one shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,742,703 (1988, DeWalch et al.). A barrel lock, as defined in the present disclosure, is commonly characterized as having a generally cylindrical case with a head portion, a smaller diameter shank portion, and a shoulder portion interposed between the head and shank portions. The shank portion includes locking means, usually a pair of retractable steel balls. The smaller diameter shank of the lock passes through the hole in the bushing until the shoulder portion of the lock abuts the bottom of the counter bore. In this position, the locking balls on the shank extend just beyond the hole in the L-shaped bracket. When the lock is locked, the locking balls protrude from the shank, and extraction of the lock is prevented by contact between the balls and the L-shaped bracket. Opening of the meter box door is prevented by contact between the bottom of the bushing counter bore and the lock head.
The position of the L-bracket relative to the door hole is critical to the function of the locking assembly. Such precise positioning is difficult to achieve in field installations. Furthermore, the bracket is not adjustable once attached. Field installation of the prior art locking system is further complicated by the bottom or side wall position of the bracket, which makes it difficult to drill the anchor holes necessary to mount the bracket. Problems can also arise when using this assembly with barrel locks which are unlocked by rotation of the key. These locks, called rotationally actuated barrel locks, sometimes tend to rotate with the key, making it necessary to hold the lock case when unlocking the lock. The bushing in the prior art locking assembly completely covers the barrel lock case, thus preventing the user from holding the case. Whatever the precise merits, features and advantages of the above cited reference, none of them achieves or fulfills the objects of the present invention as set forth below.